Unintended Witness
by aradian nights
Summary: Rhyme finds herself unable to breathe, or think, or act in a strange situation. She can't remember who she is, or where she is... but then, when all the pressure is released, who's there as her savior? Why, Joshua of course! Joshyme


_My first Joshyme AND TWEWY fic. Hell, this'll be interesting. XD_

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She couldn't breathe. Why was that again? She didn't know. It was like there was a twenty pound weight on her chest. It was crushing her ribs. It was destroying her- inside out. _Why?_ She instinctively thought. _What's going on? Why am I so cold? Why can't I breathe?_ There was a pressure on her face that she had never felt before. Why was it so dark? Why did her body ache? Was she kicking, and clawing at some invisible force. _Open your eyes, Rhyme. _Her mind was calling to her. If her body was thrashing, and her mind was completely aware, then why was she immobile? What was this part of Rhyme Bito, that couldn't remember why she was even in her predicament. She didn't know. She wanted to breathe. She wanted to breathe!

Rhyme opened her eyes, wincing at the sudden pressure on them. It was still dark around her. But she could see what was holding her down. Was that- was that a hand pinching her nose? Her eyes widened in surprised. She inhaled sharply through her mouth, but stopped as water flowed into her lungs instead of air. She coughed, bringing more water in, and she thrashed wildly. She pushed herself up, and gasped as her face broke some kind of barrier. She gasped letting the air flow into her lungs. It felt so _good. _Her vision became clear, and she could see the person who had previously been holding her under water. She recognized him. She couldn't remember from where. He was tall, muscular, with cold eyes and three scars running across his cheek.

She did what her instincts told her to. She screamed. She screamed, and screamed, and begged someone- anyone- would help her escape. But she had been pushed back under the water, regrettably, before she could call for help. She felt herself again. There was panic now. Her screams were muffled by the water around her. The dark water filled her mouth, and filled her lungs, and it choked her- it was killing her. What had she done to deserve this, she asked herself. She was crying, but you can't cry when you're surrounded by water. You could sob, though.

It didn't help her situation a bit. It probably made it worse, really. She gasped, and kicked, and clawed. Was this man made of steel? Why wouldn't he just let _go_? Her lungs were burning. They were begging for air. _Rhyme, Rhyme! No more water! No more, no more!_ They said to her. She didn't want any more water. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go, and hug Beat, and she wanted this to be a bad dream. She sobbed to herself, and more water replaced the air in her lungs.

_I don't want to die, _She sobbed inwardly. _Not again, not again. _

Why was everything getting hazy? Why had she stopped fighting? You fought in the Reaper's Game, Rhyme! You can't give up! But hadn't she already? Was there really a chance she could survive against this man? _I have to try… Go on… try… fight…_ She couldn't. She couldn't fight anymore. The pressure felt so far away, too… The need for air seemed less and less prominent. She could let go… What was her name, again?

In a suddenness Rhyme had never expected, the weight on her chest, on her face- it was released. She was free! Her eyes snapped open, and she dragged herself up. Her face broke the surface of the water, and she met the cool October air of Shibuya. She was so _cold. _Forget that- she was so _choking._ She grabbed onto the first thing in sight- which happened to be a cement ledge that seemed to keep whatever water she was in from over flowing. She coughed up all the water she swallowed with gasps in-between. She clutched her chest, feeling it rise and fall, relief flowing through her body like adrenaline. She was alive! She wasn't going to die!

She breathed in deeply, feeling the clear air enter her lungs. It was so refreshing, it almost hurt. She exhaled, watching her breath turn into a white puff that evaporated into the clean air. How she had taken the air for granted! Never again would she, though. Never again. She would forever remember how much she loved the air.

But what happened to the man that had been drowning her? She closed her eyes, and begged he was gone. She froze, suddenly remembering what had gotten her into the position she had been in.

_The odd man was hunched over, whispering to what seemed like himself. Rhyme peered around the corner, and frowned. What was he doing? Who was he talking to? Maybe he needs some help?_

_Rhyme straightened up, and shifted so she could see him clearly from the alley's entrance. She opened her mouth to speak, then she closed it. What was she about to do? Talk to a complete stranger who was in an alley talking to himself? Rhyme, that's a death wish!_

_It was, it was… She began to turn to leave, when she heard it. _Shlunk, Shlunk, Shlunk. _Rhyme spun around, and cringed as she heard a blood curdling scream. She looked up, and gasped. Was that- was that a knife? Was that blood? _

_The man whipped around at the sound of her gasp. _Oh no, _Rhyme thought. _He saw me! _So Rhyme did the only thing she could think of. She ran like hell._

Rhyme opened her eyes, and ran her hand through her wet blonde hair. It stuck to the top of her head for a few second, before flopping back down, and sticking to her face. How had this happened? Where was she? What had she been doing before the encounter? And there went her incessant questions again. Did it even matter? All that mattered was that she was alive.

But something finally came to her attention. What was that noise? It sounded like someone was shouting. Shouting threats, and such. Maybe the man had lost interest in her and found some other poor soul to hassle? She closed her eyes, and leaned against the cement. Why did they sound so close?

She felt something pop in her ears, and suddenly she could hear perfectly. It was like she had been hearing a radio station from a parking garage. It had been fuzzy, and breaking up. But she could hear fine. And she could now hear the shouts from the man who had been drowning her. _He was right next to her. _She whipped her head around, just in time to hear a loud cry of pain, and a slump.

Rhyme slapped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. The man was laying on the ground in a crumpled heap, a large gash running from his chest to his stomach. There was a pool of blood next to him. His eyes were wide open, frozen in surprise, and terror. They were glassed over, and fake-looking. Her breath caught in her throat. _He's dead! _Who had killed him?

And as if to answer her question, her eyes trailed over to the feet that were nudging the man roughly. As if he needed checking to make sure he was dead. Rhyme's eyes kept going upward, and upward until she could see the person's face.

His white shirt was spotted with blood- though it wasn't his own. His face was speckled with flecks of red, and his hands were flecked as well. But non-the-less, he smiled at her, as we wiped a large spot of blood away from his mouth. Rhyme stared at him, her eyes wide with a mix of emotions. Surprise, relief, fear, confusion. His violet eyes sparkled with hints of amusement.

"Joshua?" She croaked, fear creeping into her voice as she spoke. She knew him. She just didn't know him well enough to say she wasn't afraid of him at that moment. He looked even more amused when he noticed Rhyme was fearful of him.

"Hello, Raimu." He giggled, and licked away some blood that resided on his lips, "How are you this fine evening?"

Rhyme stared at him. How could she reply to him truthfully, but politely? Was it even possible to be polite when it came to Joshua? Well, from what she had observed from Neku and Beat… it wasn't. But that was Neku and Beat. It wasn't usual when they were polite to _anyone_.

"I've-" Rhyme swallowed, and glanced at the dead body sprawled on the asphalt, "I've been better."

Joshua smirked, and flipped the corpse over with a kick. "I'm sure you have."

Rhyme stared at him. She didn't know what to do. This was Joshua. She didn't know him. At least not well. He was the Composer wasn't he? He had killed Neku. It shouldn't surprise her he'd kill again.

But still, it scared her. She closed her eyes, and listened to the water flowing into more water. She realized where she was. She was in a fountain. Now, _what _fountain… Her teeth were chattering. And she realized just how cold the water and air was. Which meant she was a living icicle. Her fingers tingled as she brought them up from the water. She couldn't feel them anymore. They were numb.

"You know, dear, I didn't save you just so you could catch your death." Rhyme looked up, to see Joshua's face twisted into a smirk.

"Why did you save me?" Rhyme's voice was barely over a whisper. She was biting her tongue to keep her teeth from chattering.

Joshua flicked his pale hair from his face and laughed. "I need a reason to do a good deed now? Come now, that's not fair." Joshua's face became slightly more serious. But only slightly. He nudged the corpse with his foot again, and he shook his head. "It's a shame though. To have such filth in my Game… No matter," Joshua flashed a grin at her making her shrink back slightly, "He'll be erased quickly, no doubt."

Rhyme didn't answer. She couldn't. Her teeth were chattering so much, she couldn't speak. Joshua seemed to notice this, and he smirked. He bent down and extended his hand toward the girl. Rhyme was hesitant to take it, but found she really didn't have another option. She doubted she'd make it home in her state. She took it finally, and let him pull her up. She was even colder with the wind blowing against her. She shuddered, and let go of his hand.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Someone doesn't want help apparently." He said, smiling coyly. Rhyme's eyes widened as he turned to leave. He was her only way home! He couldn't leave!

"N-no, no!" Rhyme called, trying to make her voice heard clearly. It cracked, and Rhyme shook her head. Joshua turned around, and his coy smile turned to a smug one.

"Yes?"

Rhyme stared at him. Was he going to make her beg? She looked down at her clothes. They were soaked through _good._ "Well?" Joshua asked, reminding her he was still there, "I'm not waiting all night for an answer, dear."

Rhyme looked up, and bit her lip. "I-I…" She rubbed her eyes. "I… can… can you take me home, Joshua? Please?" She asked quietly.

Joshua smiled. Rhyme knew from that smile that he had known she'd say this. "What are the magic words?" Joshua giggled.

"I… said please." Rhyme murmured.

"Oh, I know, my dear. That's not it. I said magic word_s._ Plural." Rhyme looked down. She had no idea what he was saying. Magic Words? How was she supposed to know?

"Joshua is the greatest?" She asked weakly.

Joshua laughed, and looked down at her. "Close enough."

Rhyme gasped as she was yanked out of the fountain, and stumbling onto her feat. She could vaguely hear sirens in the distance. Joshua smiled. "It seems our friend here is in quite a lot of trouble… Oh, and be a dear and grab that hat of yours. We wouldn't want evidence pointing to you, now would we?"

Rhyme looked over at the fountain, and found that her hat was floating along, bobbing in the water. She nodded, and fetched it. She was quickly pulled away from the fountain, and down a road. She might've recognized it if she wasn't so tired, and cold. Her hat was damp in her hands, much like the rest of her clothes. She kept moving her legs, despite their continuous protests. She knew they would give way eventually.

Joshua stopped pulling her, and turned. Rhyme collapsed, leaning against his chest for support. He was still giggling. He pulled her up straight, and smiled as her head lolled, and rested once again on his chest. He obviously found this highly amusing. It really was a strange sight. She was drenched, and covered with dirt, and he was painted red. It was interesting, to say the least.

Joshua smiled to himself, and pulled to girl closer, wrapping her in a tight hug. Rhyme opened her eyes, surprised. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"It's the fastest way to heat a body. And you, Raimu, are very, very cold. Am I right?" Joshua giggled at her confused expression. She nodded groggily, and nestled her face into his chest. Joshua knew if she wasn't so tired, she'd be appalled by her actions. But he didn't worry about it. He left Rhyme in her room, confused when she woke up, wondering why she was wet. She debated on whether or not she had dreamed it all up.

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_And it is... two in the morning. *Dies*_


End file.
